


The Next Door Over

by Kuji (Amqersand)



Category: Hello! Project, Morning Musume.
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-18
Updated: 2010-03-27
Packaged: 2017-12-23 03:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amqersand/pseuds/Kuji
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reina lives next door to the cutest girl in the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Princess

**Author's Note:**

> This story is basically chapter 4 of Clover by Otsu Hiyori as depicted by some of our favourite idols. Minor references to Kameshige and Gakikame.

_I remember the first time we met each other, my family and I had just moved into a new neighbourhood and I had been made to go along with my mother when she went greet our new neighbours. As my mother went through the formalities of introducing us, it was then that I spotted her, peeking from behind her mother’s skirt. Long ebony hair pulled back by a pink bow, fair skin and an adorable face the peered curiously back at me. Though I had never been one for fairytales and fantasies, when I saw her it just popped into my head that princesses really existed after all because she was exactly the image of one._  
  
Once it seemed that she had decided neither I nor my mother was a threat, she approached me.  
  
"You’re pretty,” she said suddenly as though making a casual observation.  
  
Then she smiled prettily, “but not as pretty as me,” she finished. I really couldn’t argue back with such a fact and so I could only stare some more at her perfect face while inexplicably a blush appeared on mine. I would later realize that the beautiful princess was really a black-hearted witch in disguise…  
  
Ten years have passed since then.  
  
We don’t go to the same high school but our schools are close enough together that our routes home are similar. When walking home lately, I usually see her with someone – her boyfriend, I assume. When I see her smiling up at him so happily, something in my chest hurts.  
  
It’s been ten years already but I’m still under her spell.

 

\---

“Reina! Reiiiinaaa! Come on, wake up!”  
  
The formerly sleeping girl groaned. She was being awoken by some violent shaking.  
  
“What? Sayu? It’s Sunday, let me sleep…” She tried to ignore the taller girl by burying her head under her pillow.  
  
“Get up, you don’t have any plans today, right? Let’s go on a date!”  
  
Finally accepting that there was no way she’d be going back to sleep, Reina forced her brain to start functioning.  
  
“Nnngh, but I thought you had a date with Eric-kun today. Isn’t that what you told me over the phone last night?”  
  
Sayumi frowned, “Something came up at the last minute and he cancelled. I can’t believe he has something more important to do than go out with me!” She puffed her cheeks in an adorably put out manner. “Unforgivable!”  
  
“Then why don’t you just forget about going out today? If you hurry you can still get back into bed for a while. I know that’s what I want to do.” Reina was startled by the sudden despondent look on Sayumi’s face at the suggestion.  
  
“I promised my sisters I’d get some cakes for them while I was out today… I was going to make Eric pay for them but now, just picturing Rihoriho and Maachan’s disappointed faces…”  
  
This almost made Reina want to tease her about having a sister complex but at the same time this was a side of the other girl that people rarely got to see — Sayu caring for people other than herself, and Reina found herself unable to resist it. Plus it had been awhile since they had hung out together, just the two of them.  
  
“Oh alright, just let me get changed and ready.”  
  
“Yay!”

\--- 

  
The two of them found themselves wandering aimlessly in the shopping district. It was too early to be getting the pastries and neither one had a lot of extra cash to do much more than window shop.  
  
“What do you want to do now?” Reina questioned since Sayumi _was_ the one who had dragged them out here in the first place.  
  
“Hmm…” It seemed that she didn’t have much of an idea either.  
  
However, Sayumi was saved from having to answer when they were approached by two not-so-bad-looking guys with a suggestion of their own.  
  
“Hey, you two are really cute!” The first guy said, which was a lame but ultimately true statement.  
  
“Want to go come have some fun with us?” The second suggested.  
  
Reina did not want to spend the rest of her ‘date’ with Sayu, such as it was, with two smarmy guys hitting on them. She was about to tell them that too except that Sayumi stopped her.  
  
“We’d be happy to have some lunch with you but that’s all.” She replied cutely.

Ah! There it was, the witch was coming out and those guys were completely clueless. Reina glanced at their smitten faces. Really no clue at all.  
  
Reina tried to warn them, “I don’t think that’s a good—”  
  
“Sure! It’s on us!” They offered.

 

\---

  
Sayumi had expensive taste when she didn’t have to foot the bill and she was a glutton for good food as the numerous empty dishes laid on the table attested.  
  
“Thanks for the food! Let’s go, Reina!”  
  
“I tried to warn you…” Reina said before following her friend out the restaurant doors. She felt bad for them since she’d been a victim of Sayumi’s wiles enough times herself.  
  
“You have a boyfriend you know… Should you be doing stuff like accepting invitations from random guys?”  
  
Sayumi actually seemed to think about this for a moment but she rebounded with an answer quick enough.  
  
“Wouldn’t you have felt bad for those guys if we’d turned them down though?”  
  
Of course that would be her answer. How could the benevolent Michishige Sayumi deprive the masses of her beauty and cuteness? Frankly, Reina felt worse about what they did to those two guys than she would have felt at turning them down. Her friend however, was oblivious to all this as they carried on with their window shopping.  
  
“Hey, since we didn’t have to pay for lunch, let’s get some good meat on the way home and have sukiyaki for dinner! You can come over, right?”  
  
If Reina were honest to herself, Sayumi had just brought up two things she liked most in the world, spending time with Sayumi… and meat. So naturally she could only agree.

 

\---

  
After dinner the two of them were hanging out in Sayumi’s room. Reina was reading manga on Sayu’s bed while it seemed that the other girl was filling in some sort of form or at least trying to, if all her long drawn out hm’s were any indication. Getting curious about what was giving her friend so much trouble, Reina sat up and took a peek.  
  
“What is that? Oh, your future aspirations form?”  
  
“Yeah. It’s due for tomorrow. What about yours?”  
  
“Our school hasn’t handed them out yet. Are you thinking about college?”  
  
Sayumi fiddled with her pencil. “Yeah but I don’t know which one, there’s still plenty of time anyway.”  
  
“Well, what about what you want to be when you grown up?”  
  
“A cute bride.” Was Sayumi’s quick answer to that question. It was an easier answer than which college she would be going to. She wanted it all, the wedding, the cake, the white dress…  
  
“…I want to live in a big white house, three children and a big dog.”  
  
Reina made a face, “A dog?” She always thought Sayu was more a cat person like herself but that wasn’t the only reason the other girl’s answer was upsetting for Reina.  
  
“A bride seems so ordinary though. I thought you would have said something like a princess or an actress or something.”  
  
“You really think so? I think the ordinary stuff is harder than it looks. I think if I could have a happy family, it’d be great, you know?” Sayumi was being unusually candid and Reina didn’t know what to say.  
  
While Reina was still struggling for words, there was a knock on Sayumi’s bedroom door. It was Riho letting her sister know that the bath was free and making the two them realise just how late it had gotten.  
  
“Oh, want to stay over tonight?” Sayumi offered.  
  
Part of Reina wanted to say yes but she needed some time to think and that was hard to do around Sayumi.  
  
“It’s okay. I’ll just go home now… it _is_ right next door.”  
  
_A bride, huh?_ An ordinary life really was difficult, Reina realized. It was something that Sayumi’s loser boyfriend could give her but not best friend. Even though they lived right next door to each other, it didn’t mean that they would be together forever. Reina understood that but it didn’t stop her from wishing or wanting…

 


	2. The Witch

  
Reina was trudging home from another day at the hell known as high school. She’d spent the night tossing and turning in bed and so come time for class she had found it hard to stay awake. This had earned her a quite a few scoldings from her teacher before being sent from the classroom. Sleeping while upright, standing in the hall had been tough but she’d managed a small amount of shut eye before that bell rang.  
  
“Rei-chaan!” A cheerful voice called from behind her.  
  
Sayumi was approaching from behind with her youngest little sister Masaki and they were busy pulling along something behind them.  
  
“What’s that?” She asked, eyeing what looked suspiciously like shrubbery. Stolen shrubbery.  
  
“Tomorrow is Tanabata so we got some bamboo from the Qians to tie our wishes on.”  
  
“Yeah!” agreed Masaki excitedly. Sayumi just smiled fondly at Masaki and Reina just knew that Sayumi had done this more to make her little sister happy than anything. She almost felt jealous of the five year old. She’d actually forgotten about the festival due to her mind being on other matters.  
  
“Tanabata, huh…” She felt someone tugging on her skirt and drawing her attention.  
  
“Ne, Tanasatan! Tanasatan!”  
  
“Hm? What is it Maachan?”  
  
“Bamboo is what pandas eat!” Little kids were so random but Reina praised the young child for the obscure little fact and ruffled her hair a bit. While doing that she didn’t catch it when Sayumi’s attention was been drawn to something across the road until little Masaki questioned her elder sister’s inattention and lack of response to the extremely fascinating bamboo/panda factoid.  
  
“Nee-chan, what’s wrong?”  
  
“Oh it’s nothing.”  
  
Looking in the direction that Sayumi had just pulled her attention from, Reina spotted… Huh? Was that Eric? His hand was intertwined with that of a cute, short-haired girl who wore the same uniform as Sayumi’s. Was he cheating on her friend? Reina didn’t have long to wonder about this or get angry on her friend’s behalf as Sayumi soon snapped her out of it by demanding that she carry the bamboo branch for them, citing — cutely of course — that her hands hurt as an excuse.  
  
“Let’s go get an ice-cream, Maachan!” A detour didn’t matter now that Sayumi had Reina to do all the carrying it seemed.  
  
“Yeah!”  
  
Reina just trailed behind the two happy siblings confused. Were Eric and that other girl just friends and she was totally seeing things? They were out of sight now, maybe that guy just really looked a lot like Eric. Maybe because she just wanted Sayumi’s relationship to be in trouble so she saw the situation through a haze of wishful thinking… and maybe she was a terrible friend.  


\---

  
  
That night as they sat outside chatting after having helped Sayumi’s younger sisters write their wishes for Tanabata and hang them up, the older girl sighed and what had happened that afternoon came up.  
  
“No wonder Eric cancelled our date. I guess he got a better offer.”  
  
Reina growled low in her throat, “So that really was him today. Why didn’t you say anything?” The nerve of the boy too, Reina couldn’t help thinking. Sayumi was way cuter than that other girl, so cheating when he had such a great girlfriend already… it really pissed Reina off.  
  
“Actually, I’m kind of impressed. Who would have thought Eric would have it in him to be a player?”  
  
Sayumi was taking it amazingly calmly in Reina’s opinion. Too calmly in fact, it couldn’t mean she was actually thinking of forgiving him, right?  
  
“You’re breaking up with him for this, aren’t you?” Reina tried to keep her voice low and despite the fact that she actually wanted to yell. She finally had a valid excuse to hate their relationship. Eric had cheated. Sayu shouldn’t stay with him because he no longer deserved to have her.  
  
“Nope.”  
  
This answer stupefied Reina. She didn’t understand it.  
  
“If I broke up with him, it would be like admitting that I lose to this other girl, like she’s better and cuter than Sayumi. I definitely don’t want to do that.”  
  
“You idiot!” Reina burst out. “That’s no reason to stay with a guy who cheats on you! You should dump his ass because if it were me, I’d never forgive him. If it were me…”  
  
 _If it were me, I’d never cheat on you_ , was what Reina was thinking. _If it were me, I’d do anything you wanted. If it were me I’d never fall in love with someone else._  
  
  
  
“I’m the one who loves you…” This sentiment was thought and felt just loudly enough in Reina’s mind to escape voiced in a soft whisper.  
  
“Reina?” Sayumi wasn’t sure about what she’d just heard the other girl mutter under her breath.  
  
“Ah! Nothing… nevermind.” Reina cussed at her slip of tongue – just in her mind this time.  
  
“Thank you for caring so much, Reina but I don’t think you quite understand.” Sayumi’s face changed into an angelically innocent look that Reina recognized instantly as the façade she donned when she planned something particularly evil.  
  
“I plan on making him dump that other girl and fall madly in love with me. Have him spend a ton of cash on me and then I’m going to dump him. It’s going to be public and very humiliating.” She finished this confession with a bright smile and Reina realised just how mad her friend really was.  
  
 _She’s furious!_  
  
“You know Sayu… it’s this sort of thing that makes people afraid to be your friend. You’re pretty brutal when it comes right down to it.”  
  
The devilish girl bumped her shoulder against Reina’s and took her hand. “But you’ll always be here for me, won’t you? Forever. So I don’t have anything to worry about.”  
  
This time, the smile Sayumi gave her might have been the most genuine thing Reina had ever seen. It spoke of complete belief in the words spoken. It made Reina’s heart rate increase.  
  
Clacking from the glass door being slid open interrupted them and Riho came out, obviously looking for the two of them.  
  
“Hey, you two haven’t written your wishes yet!”  
  
“Oh yeah! We’ll be right there.” Sayu offered Reina her hand and pulled her up so they could head inside.  
  
Sayumi tapped her calligraphy pen against the table. “I guess I’ll go with winning the lottery.”  
  
“You wrote that last year.” Reina remarked.  
  
“Well what about you?” She didn’t wait for Reina to answer and instead made a grab at the smaller girl’s wish instead.  
  
“Hey!”  
  
Sayu laughed as her friend tried ineffectually to stop her but soon stopped when she read what was written on the little slip of paper.  
  
“…You do some pretty cute stuff sometimes.”  
  
Reina was beet red as she grabbed the piece of paper back but managed to snap, “Just sometimes?”  
  
That night when all the wishes swayed gently in the breeze, one could be seen that read: ‘ _Please let me live next door to a white house.’_

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted on H!O but this version has a few fixes and changes. (2013-08-12)


End file.
